Page 154 of Eryx

“I do not wish to discuss it,” I said, sliding my arms around him. “Introduce me to your new furry friend.”

He turned in my arms. “Only if you promise not to hurt him.”

“I swear it to you.”

I refused to worry him over the things discussed in the meeting. War had not been decided yet, and until it was, the less Axios knew the better.

Weeks later, we stood on a hill and watched outsiders enter Sparta. Each councilman had fifteen escorts with him—some of them soldiers.

“Who are they?” Axios asked.

“Representatives from Macedonia, Syracuse, and Persia,” I answered, pointing to each group. “Another from Thebes is supposed to be arriving soon as well, and one from Athens.”

“Why are they here?” Trepidation laced his tone.

“It is a meeting to work toward peace. Again,” I said, placing a hand on the hilt of my sword. I had retrieved it earlier that day after I was told they’d be arriving. “Yet, peace negotiations or not, it is always wise to be ready for a fight.”

“Are you to participate in the meeting?”

“No.”

“Then, there is no point in us standing here just watching them, if there is not a thing we can do,” Axios said, looking at me. “The waiting will only make you anxious.”

“I am not anxious.” Though, even as I said the words, I tightened the grip on my sword. He truly knew me better than anyone.

“Let us go see my sister.” Axios faced me and caressed a finger down my arm. “I wish to escape from war and outsiders for a while longer. And I wish to see the baby.”

Leanna had given birth to a boy nearly two years ago, and unlike after Leo’s birth, she had not fallen ill. Both she and baby Icarius were healthy.

I studied Axios’ hand on my arm and eyed him suspiciously, noticing a wicked gleam amidst the pools of honey. “Are you attempting to seduce me to get me to do as you ask?”

“Perhaps,” he answered. “Is it working?”

How could I deny him when he stared at me in such a way?

I sighed and began walking down the hill before looking at him over my shoulder. “Are you coming?”

With a victorious smile, Axios nodded and followed me. We arrived at Leanna and Haden’s home minutes later, seeing her sitting in the yard with her son in front of her.

“Brother!” Leanna exclaimed upon seeing Axios. She grabbed her son’s hand and pointed at us. “Icarius, it is your uncle.”

Icarius had a lighter shade to his hair, more like an owl than a raven. His gray eyes widened and he wobbled in place, not yet having learned to walk well on his own. Axios rushed over and scooped him up, kissing the child’s cheeks. Icarius giggled and lightly slapped at Axios’ face before putting his little arms around Axios’ neck and laying his head down.

Axios rested his cheek on the boy’s head, a soft smile curving his lips. Our eyes met, and I was overcome with a love so profound it nearly brought me to my knees. We had no children of our own, but we didn’t need them to fill that void. I approached them and rubbed the child’s back.

“He adores you,” Leanna said to Axios. She stood from the grass and brushed the dirt from her dress. “Every time I mention your name, he smiles and searches for you. Then when you do not appear, he cries.” To prove her point, she grabbed Icarius and started taking him away. He whined and held on tighter to Axios’ neck. “Do you see?”

Axios chuckled and kissed the boy’s temple, rocking him in his arms.

“There is my boy,” Haden said, entering the courtyard, sweaty and bruised from training. He regarded Icarius. “Have you been good for your mother?”

Icarius reached out his arms to his father, and Axios kissed him again before handing him over.

“He is never bad,” Leanna said, wrapping her arms around her husband. “I believe he takes after his uncle: kind-spirited, bashful, and a fondness for the sky. It does not take much to keep him occupied and behaving well.”

“Takes after Axalina, does he?” Haden asked, scoffing as he glared at Axios. There was no actual malice behind the look.

I laughed at the taunting name, remembering when it was first spoken so many years ago. Axios laughed, too, and I wondered if his mind took him to the same memory.